SERENA

Serena plopped on the fluffy beds, her damped hair spreading over the comforter like a golden web.

The moment she landed in Hawaii, the excitement returned to her. She refused to dwell over silly thoughts because who knows when she will come back here again? Ash, Dawn and Paul weren't too excited because it wasn't the first time they had visited.

But Serena was, and Dawn caught her contagious enthusiasm too, pulling the honey blonde along to the famous shopping malls near their five-star hotel. Serena secretly wished that Ash would tag along but he left with Paul immediately to the project site.

And now after seven hours of exhausting shopping, Serena wanted to curl into a ball and sleep. However, she couldn't sleep and stared blankly at the ceiling.

'I wonder what Ash is doing' She often thought about him and most of her thoughts ended up coming back to her benefactor. Yet, she didn't dislike it. He was, if she dared say, her first friend after May.

"Friends, huh?" It left a bitter taste in Serena's mouth. She screwed her eyes shut, willing herself to fall asleep. She wanted to wait for him and greet him but was it necessary for her to do that? She was just his assistant and yet, she found herself missing him.

Just as she was thinking, a light knock sounded on the door. She sat up, her heart skipping a beat. She mumbled "Could it be . . .?"

Serena jumped up on the second knock, hurrying towards the door and pulling it open - and there he was, looking as handsome as he always looked. Just a bit tired perhaps but still the same. Her heart fluttered.

Ash peered down at her, a smile taking over his lips. He had packed off early because for some reason, his mind was stuck on Serena. He wanted to see her. He greeted her cheerfully "Hey Serena! Did you enjoy the shopping?"

"I did" Serena smiled, moving aside. "How did it go?"

"Very well" Ash shrugged as if he had handled it with ease. "Although it was mainly Paul who did the work. He scared the manager into talking with his superiors. Tomorrow we will have a meeting with them."

Serena bit back a giggle. Somehow she could imagine that. Ash looked at her for a moment, then shook his head and gave her a lopsided smile. "Wanna go to the night carnival?"

"Yes?" Serena didn't hide her bewilderment. "So suddenly. . .?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to" Ash ruffled his hair, flustered. "I just thought that you might want to see it, now that we are here -"

"I would love that!" Serena gushed, her blue eyes sparkling. She had only heard of carnivals and saw the pictures in magazines but that was it. To see one in flesh, she couldn't even hide her excitement.

"Great!" Ash grinned. Then he leaned closer and whispered "But be quiet about it, okay? It's just you and me."

"Yeah, okay" Serena closed the door as he disappeared round the staircase, waving. 'Just you and me' She remembered his words and a deep blush spreaded across her cheeks. And unwillingly, she found her heart skipping beats yet again.

ASH

Ash tapped his foot, impatiently looking at the staircase. It had less than ten minutes since he had arrived and yet he found himself getting impatient.

Earlier when he had went along with Paul to the project site, he head overhead a group of workers talking about the carnival. Although he wouldn't have normally paid attention to it, once he had heard it, he couldn't stop thinking.

The whole day he hadn't seen Serena and he didn't like it. Although it looked like the project would go smoother than before, he was sure that he wouldn't get any time with her. And he thought a night outing would make up for her absence for the rest of their days in Hawaii.

Somehow, he always found himself doing things he wouldn't do for the honey blonde.

"Ash!" Serena's voice reverberated through the hallway. He snapped his head in her direction and for a moment, his heart stopped beating.

Serena walked up to him, a sunflower smile plastered on her pretty face. Her pale blue dress, the color of spring skies, matched with her oceanic blue eyes and her honey blondes were left in loose waves. She was always pretty but Ash never thought that she could so stunning.

"You look beautiful" He blurred out before he could stop himself. A blush immediately spread over Serena's pale face. She moved her hand to tuck a strand behind her ear bashfully, a habit that followed her into adulthood. But before she could, Ash grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

Her blue eyes widened, cherry lips parting in surprise as he quickly pulled his hand away. He gave her a shy smile. "Don't. Let it be this way"

"Then, shall we go?" He cleared his throat, offering her his hand. Serena snapped out of her trance and a teasing smile took over.

"Are you my escort for today?" She joked playfully, the clouds of sparks flying between them dissolving into a lighter atmosphere. Ash gave her a cheeky grin.

"Yes, M'lady. So please don't worry about anything because you have got the bestest escort"

SERENA

"This - This is awesome!" Serena squealed, running through the gates of the carnival. People dressed in colorful costumes native to the country flooded the place, the mouth-watering smell of food and games everywhere. It bustled with life and Serena loved every second of it.

"Calm down" Ash caught up to her, laughing. "You are gonna fall."

And she did. The honey blonde tripped over a pebble and fell. But she quickly got up and dusted off the dirt and was off to look around again. Ash couldn't help but smile at her childish enthusiasm.

"Ouch" Serena yelped slightly as people bumped into her. Ash shook his head, chuckling and went to help her before the poor girl got crushed by the bustling crowds. He grabbed her hand, pulling her and saving her from getting stomped on by the crowd.

"Phew, I thought I was going to die" Serena breathed out, a grin on her face contrasting the feeling of a person who almost got stomped to death. Her hair was already messy but she was too thrilled to care.

"Hold my hand. I don't want you getting lost in the crowd" Ash told her. It was then that she noticed her fingers intertwined with his. She felt her heart flutter so she looked away and nodded.

"You want to go play games first and then food?" Ash pointed to a stall nearby.

"Yeah!" Serena bubbled excitedly and ran forward, dragging Ash with her. He laughed breezily as they pushed forward in the crowd, her enthusiasm proving contagious to him.

And for once in a long time, he felt alive.